the books last 5 years old that turned you on

[tylerd]

hi, i am tyler
and i would like t ask you all as to the books of the last 5 yeats that impressed you the most.
share your ops if you please.
welcome,
as a fine creature once've said

 

[Martin]

Welcome.

Well, I've only been reading for about four years, and the guy that got me hooked was John Grisham. It was his The Partner that I started with, and I haven't looked back since.

That said, I never read any of his stuff anymore. So, I do remember really enjoying it, but I don't think that book was pivotal - it was just that first nudge, that pushed me over the edge.

A few books that really impressed me where Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-5 and The Sirens of titan, and Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon.

And many more, of course. Each and every book I read makes an impression on me and slightly changes me.

Cheers

 

[Martin]

Or did you mean books not older than 5 years?

Cheers

 

[Irene Wilde]

hi, i am tyler
and i would like t ask you all as to the books of the last 5 yeats that impressed you the most.
share your ops if you please.
welcome,
as a fine creature once've said

Hello Tyler, and Welcome!

I'm a little confused by the question, so forgive, but are you asking about books we've read in the last five years or books we've read which were published in the last five years?

I'm afraid my tastes tend to run to books from the last century and by the time I catch up on those, the ones that have been published recently will be about 50 years old as well.

However, if you are asking about books that I've read in the last five years, here's some that I fell in love with:

Cosmicomics -- Italo Calvino. An enchanting collection of short tales that mix astronomy and mathematical forumulae with family and folklore. If the first story doesn't grab you and pull you in, then the soul's been sucked from your body and you better go find it.

The Crying of Lot 49 -- Thomas Pynchon. The so-called "accessible" Pynchon, which means it's less than 500 pages long and he's dealing with only one person psyche, not the collective psyche of the Western World in the latter half of the 20 Century, the way he did in "Gravity's Rainbow" (to quote a chum "Magically obscure!"). This very short novel shows Pynchon's humor, both dark and light, and his real gift for story-telling.

Sons and Lovers -- D.H. Lawrence. Ah Lawrence! A coming of age tale in the English Midlands in the early part of the 20th Century, but it's Lawrence, so it pulse with life and color. The language is almost sinfully sensual, and the characters are so carefully realized that you feel you know them and have lived with them for years. Vintage Lawrence and that's high praise in itself!

Tropic of Cancer -- Henry Miller. If you are over 18, then just read it. You don't need me to talk about it, you just need to read. If you are under 18...turn 18 and then read it.

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog -- Dylan Thomas. It's Dylan Thomas and it falls nicely into "fiction" although it's largely autobiographical. He's the master. I am his slave. Again, it's a short book of short stories, and it's Dylan Thomas, who caressed so much out of the English language in so few years that the rest of us shouldn't be allowed to speak for the damage we do to the same language Dylan made splendid.

Of course, these are "fiction" as befits this section of the forum, and each was read within the last two years (being an old thing, my memory can't always recall when a book got read).

Irene Wilde

 

[Jenem]

i am going to assume you meant books that i've read in the last 5 years that have impressed me the most. since all my books are packed (and i can't refer to their titles) these are all i can think of (in no particular order):

pride & prejudice, jane austen
day of the triffids, john wyndham
oryx and crake, margaret atwood
dandelion wine, ray bradbury
blindess, jose saramago
a falcon flies, wilbur smith

i'm sure there are many more, but these come to mind first

 

[Jazzman]

Dandelion Wine was fabulous! Good on ya Jenem for reading it.

I remember it was a Saturday, this past July, when I read the entire book, twice, in one day. The only other book I have done that with, ironically enough, was Fahrenheit 451 - also by Bradbury.

 

[Jenem]

Dandelion Wine was fabulous! Good on ya Jenem for reading it.

I remember it was a Saturday, this past July, when I read the entire book, twice, in one day. The only other book I have done that with, ironically enough, was Fahrenheit 451 - also by Bradbury.

Fahrenheit 451 was also excellent!! I read that recently - that would make my list too!